In Western theatre-dance traditions, notably ballet and modern dance, the most recurrent clash of principles has been over the question of expression. Theatre dance generally falls into two categories: that which is purely formal, or dedicated to the perfection of style and display of skill, and that which is dramatic, or dedicated to the expression of emotion, character, and narrative action. In the early French and Italian ballets of the 16th and 17th centuries, dance was only a part of huge spectacles involving singing, recitation, instrumental music, and elaborate stage design. Although such spectacles were loosely organized around a story or theme, the dance movement itself was largely formal and ornamental, with only a very limited range of mime gestures to convey the action. As dance itself became more virtuosic and ballet began to emerge as a proper theatrical art form, the technical prowess of the dancers became the major focus of interest. Ballet developed into a miscellaneous collection of short pieces inserted, almost at random, into the middle of an opera with no other function than to show off the dancers’ skills. In Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760; Letters on Dancing and Ballets) Jean-Georges Noverre, the great French choreographer and ballet master, deplored this development. He argued that dance is meaningless unless it has some dramatic and expressive content and that movement should become more natural and accommodate a wider range of expression: “I think . . . this art has remained in its infancy only because its effects have been limited, like those of fireworks designed simply to gratify the eyes. . . . No one has suspected its power of speaking to the heart.”
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In Western theatre-dance traditions, notably ballet and modern dance, the most recurrent clash of principles has been over the question of expression. Theatre dance generally falls into two categories: that which is purely formal, or dedicated to the perfection of style and display of skill, and that which is dramatic, or dedicated to the expression of emotion, character, and narrative action. In the early French and Italian ballets of the 16th and 17th centuries, dance was only a part of huge spectacles involving singing, recitation, instrumental music, and elaborate stage design. Although such spectacles were loosely organized around a story or theme, the dance movement itself was largely formal and ornamental, with only a very limited range of mime gestures to convey the action. As dance itself became more virtuosic and ballet began to emerge as a proper theatrical art form, the technical prowess of the dancers became the major focus of interest. Ballet developed into a miscellaneous collection of short pieces inserted, almost at random, into the middle of an opera with no other function than to show off the dancers’ skills. In Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760; Letters on Dancing and Ballets) Jean-Georges Noverre, the great French choreographer and ballet master, deplored this development. He argued that dance is meaningless unless it has some dramatic and expressive content and that movement should become more natural and accommodate a wider range of expression: “I think . . . this art has remained in its infancy only because its effects have been limited, like those of fireworks designed simply to gratify the eyes. . . . No one has suspected its power of speaking to the heart.”
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